Election Analysis

Lok Raj Sangathan organized a round-table discussion on the burning topic: “Thorough-going reforms in the political system and process needed”. Following the just concluded assembly elections to five states – U.P., Manipur, Uttarakhand, Punjab and Goa, the discussion brought out a great degree of unanimous concern among the various participant groups and individuals, on how people are completely marginalized in India, which is touted as the world’s most populous democracy.

Amidst severe doubts expressed by leaders of political parties who lost the Assembly elections in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab (BahujanSamaj Party and the AamAadmi Party) about the possible rigging of Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), the Election Commission of India (ECI) has emphatically supported the machines. It has dismissed the allegations as speculative and wild.The poll panel also asserted that it had not received specific complaints or concrete material from political parties and candidates about alleged tampering of EVMs during the recent elections.

Under the topic “Wresting citizen’s rights from polity” (Ini Oru Vidhi Seyvom) activists belonging to 15 people’s organisations came together on March 19th in Chennai to discuss a fundamental transformation of the political and electoral process.

The present Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has been chosen as the Presidential candidate by the ruling UPA combine. A lot of parleying is being done by the Congress Party to make sure that he wins the elections comfortably. Will the election of Pranab Mukherjee to the post of President make any difference to the lives of people?

In a recent article published in the Economic Times, a leader of a political party has opined that negative voting by opting to reject all candidates is akin to boycotting of elections and instead one needs to consider electoral reforms such as state funding of elections and proportional representation in place of "first past the post" system.

Elections to five state assemblies in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Manipur and Goa are taking place at a time when people in these states are facing major problems. But none of the political parties seem to be paying even lip service to these problems.